Gingerbread men
Ingredients
- 150g butter, chopped
- 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, sifted
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger, sifted
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
- 3 cups plain flour, sifted
- milk chocolate bits, to decorate
Royal icing
- 1 eggwhite
- 1 1/4 cups pure icing sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Method
- Place butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat. Stir in bicarbonate of soda. Transfer to a large, heatproof bowl. Cool.
- Stir in egg, ginger, mixed spice, baking powder and flour until combined. Divide dough in half. Shape into discs. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.
- Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease 3 baking trays. Line with baking paper. Roll 1 dough disc between 2 sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Using a 7cm gingerbread man cutter, cut shapes from dough, re-rolling dough scraps. Place, 2cm apart, on prepared trays. Repeat with remaining pastry disc.
- Bake, 1 tray at a time, for 8 minutes or until just firm to touch. Stand on trays for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make icing: Using a fork, beat eggwhite in a bowl until foamy. Gradually beat in icing sugar until combined. Stir in lemon juice. Spoon icing into a snap-lock bag. Snip off 1 corner. Decorate gingerbread men with icing and chocolate bits. Set aside for 20 minutes or until set. Serve.
Notes
- If dough is a little soft once rolled out to desired thickness, return to the fridge for 10 minutes to firm.
What you need to know
Information current as at November 2010